Every weekend, Mr. Soriano packs up as many books from his collection of more than 4,800 as his two donkeys – Alfa and Beto – can handle. He then embarks on short journeys to nearby villages as a make-shift bookmobile, distributing books and news to disconnected rural populations. He undertook the project hoping to inspire change in the violent landscape that surrounded him, and has continued after the violence has subsided.

From the article:

“This began as a necessity; then it became an obligation; and after that a custom,” he explained, squinting at the hills undulating into the horizon. “Now,” he said, “it is an institution.”

How awesome is this guy? Mr. Soriano’s Biblioburro project is what we at SDIF would like to call “totally heroic.”

Public Knowledge has a great discussion of the copyright challenges facing musicians today given the begged, borrowed, and stolen traditions of many musical genres, like African-American folk/blues music.